mUltimate Chopin

Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Corrections in A

b. 216

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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The deletion visible in A reveals that Chopin initially wrote a crotchet stem for the a2 quaver; eventually, however, he decided to replace it with an accent.

category imprint: Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Corrections in A , Deletions in A

b. 224-226

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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The correction to the last quaver in b. 226 visible in A – it was probably the e2-g2 third that was deleted – could be considered an improvement introduced due to a different bass sequence. However, the last quaver was also corrected in b. 224, where the bass is the same as in the previous two occurrences of analogous bars (b. 216 and 218). Therefore, it seems that Chopin was already certain of the concept of both versions of this quaver while writing b. 224; however, the versions overlapped in his mind, thus resulting in mistakes in both places.

category imprint: Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Corrections in A , Errors resulting from corrections , Deletions in A , Main-line changes

b. 235

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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The deletion visible in A next to the c-c1 octave most probably covers the initial version of this octave. According to us, it could have been d-d1.

category imprint: Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Corrections in A , Deletions in A

b. 245-246

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

2 separate slurs in A

Continuous slur in FE (→EE)

3 separate slurs in GE
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In A, the slurs between these bars were being corrected – according to us, Chopin divided the initial continuous slur, which is indicated by the endings marking the division of the slur (the endings are clearly bolder, hence more important, final). However, the part of the initial slur that was supposed to be deleted was not eventually removed, hence FE (→EE) understood this correction the other way around (it is also likely that the correction was not there yet when FE was being engraved – see the description of FE). In the main text we give the slurs separated by Chopin. The versions of GE and GE1a, with the slur divided before the last sextuplet and after it, most probably resulted from mistakes or arbitrary revisions.
We discuss the issue of the additional slurs encompassing the sextuplets separately – see the previous note.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Errors in FE , Corrections in A , Errors resulting from corrections , Errors in GE , GE revisions

b. 247

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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In A, one can see two more deleted notes between the c3 and b2 quavers; in addition, the not entirely removed stem of the former was left untouched. Consequently, it probably caused the mistake of FE, in which one can see traces of removal of a redundant note, most probably c3, placed between d3 and c3. It is uncertain what the aim of the corrections of A was. Below we present a hypothetical reconstruction of a respective fragment with the removed notes having been revealed: . The notation can be explained as follows:

  • After d3, the first notes to have been written down were the three 'top' quavers c3-b2-a2, which means that Chopin wanted to start writing down the roulade without an octave sign already from c3; moreover, it means that he overlooked the c3-b2-d3 motif.
  • Chopin then changed his intentions as to the end of the octave sign, removed c3-b2, written down without an octave sign, and rewrote them an octave lower, planning to encompass them with an octave sign.
  • In that moment, he decided to add the c3-b2-d3 motif, or, which we consider more likely, he noticed that he had overlooked it. Therefore, he removed the 'bottom' b2 he had just entered and the following a2, before continuing with writing, starting from b2.

category imprint: Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Corrections in A , Errors resulting from corrections , Deletions in A , Authentic corrections of FE